Can opener



Nov. 24 1925. 1,562,579"

' w. H. NORDHAUS CAN'OPENBR Filed April 20, 1925' W um W Patented Nov. 24,. 1925.

WILLIAM H. NORDHAUS, OF RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS.

CAN OPENER.

Application filed April 20, 1925.. Serial No. 24,314.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Nonn- HAUS, a citizen of the United States, residm at River Forest, in the county of Cook an State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can Openers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to can openers, and has reference more particularly to portable can openers of the type designed to operate on cans having upstanding annular rims or beads on one or both ends thereof, and employing a pair pf rim-gripping wheels, one of which is toothed or knurled to effectively bite into the'inner side of the rim or head and feed the latter through the cutter and a rotary cutter disc fast with relation to the other rim-gripping wheel that cuts through the bod of the can just below the plane of the en closure completely shearing off the head of the can; the knurled or toothed wheel being provided with a manually operated shaft rotating the same, and the rim or bead traveling between the grippin wheels and cutter as the shaft is turned.

0st can openers of this type, so far as I am aware, employ a pair of pivoted openable and closable handle members on which the rim-gripping wheels are respectively mounted, one of the handle members also carrying the cutter. One object of my present invention is to provide a simple, practical and ef-,

ficientcan opener requiring but a single handle member. Another object of my invention is to simplify and reduce the number of manipulations of the tool required to effect the application of the latter to the can and the opening of the latter, this object being effected by a construction such that the rotation of the feed-wheel shaft first carries the feed-wheel into working engagement with the rim and its continued rotation effects the feed of the rim through the gripping wheels and the severance of the can head by the cutter. Still another object is to simplify the construction and reduce the cost of articles of this character.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the principle of the invention, and wherein form a handle 10.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the can opener shown applied in open position to the rim of a can;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing thetool 1n cuttlng' engagement with the rim;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section. taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and I Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates as anent rety a flat metal bar, approximately one longitudinal half of which is shaped to The other longitudinal half of the bar carries the can-engaging parts, comprising a pair of rim-gripping wheels, a rotary cutter, and a manuallyoperated shaft for bringing the gripping wheels into engagement withthe rim of the canand effecting the feed of the rim between the wheels during the cutting operation. Preferably and as herein shown, the bar is formed in one edge thereof with an inwardly extending curved slot 11, and 0p posite the inner side of said slot is mounted a fixed stud 12 on which is journaled an abutment wheel 13, integral or otherwise fast with which is a cutter disc 14. On the opposite or outer side of the slot 11 the end portion of the bar 10' is formed with a transverse slot 15 extending approximately the full width of the bar. As herein shown, this slotis slightly arcuate in form, although it may be a straight slot. As shown in Fig. 3, the metal bounding the outer side of the slot 15 is slightly reduced in thickness as compared with the metal bounding the inner side wall of the slot, for a purpose hereinafter disclosed. Lying within the slot 15 is the reduced hub 16 of a ratchet toothed feed wheel 16. The feed wheel 16 and its hub 16 are formed with a tapped bore that receives the threaded end ;17 of a shaft 18. This latter is formed with an annular shouL der 19, between which and the upper face of the slotted end portion of the bar and spanning the slot 15 is preferably interposed a spring friction washer 20. A crossbar or handle 21 mounted in the upper end of the shaft 18 forms a convenient thumb of the bar 10 and spanning the slot 15 by the threaded end 17 of the shaft 18 in cooperation with the annular shoulder 19 and the washer 20.

It will be observed that, since the inner side wall of the slot 15 is slightly thicker than the outer side wall, the friction grip of the shoulders 19 and 22 and the washer 20 is wholly on the inner side wall, so that, when the handle 21 is turned clockwise, or in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the shaft, washer and feed-wheel travel through the slot 15 from the sition shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in ig. 2; and when the handle is turned in the reverse direction, the said parts travel from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1. 7

In using the tool to sever the head of a can such as that shown at C in Figs. 1 and 2, the two rim-gripping wheels 13 and 16 are separated sufficiently to admit the rim or bead of the can between the feed-wheel16 and the periphery of the cutter 14 by turning the-handle 21 counterclockwise, which carries the feed-wheel 16 to the position shown in Fig. 1. The tool having been applied to the can as shown in Fig. 1, the handle 21 is turned clockwise, and the first few turns thereof bring the feed and abutment wheels 16 and 13 into gripping engagement'with the rim and at the same time cause the sharp edge of the cutter 14 to penetrate the wall of the can just below the bead and head of the latter, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Continued turning of the handle 21 then causes the can to rotate and the rim thereof to travel between the gripping wheels until the cutter has completely severed the head ofthe can. A few turns of the handle in the reverse direction separate the grip ing wheels and cutter from the rim and a low' the severed *headof the can to be discharged from the tool.

The slit or slot 11 in the wheel-carrying member between the feed-wheel and the abutment'wheeland cutter is not essential to a satisfactor tool otherwise answering the above description; but it is preferably employed because 'it provides a slightly yielding elastic or resilient grip of the feed and abutment wheels on the rim of the-can which automatically takes care of slight variations in thickness of the rim, and insures a positive feed at all points, of the latter. It also insures a better friction drive from the outer surface of the rim to the abutment wheel 13 and cutter disc 14 than. would be the case were the wheels 16 and 13 rigidly spaced during the cutting operation.

The slightl arcuate form of the slot 15, through whic the feed-wheel advances into and retreats from working position more effectively locks the feed-wheel in working.

position during the cutting of the can aga inst possible. back-slip than is ossible with a straight slot, since during sue backslipthe shank of the feed roller would have to ascend the slightly the slot. k I In one edge of the bar 10, 'ust forwardly of the ban le portion 10", may form a prong or spur 23 that may conveniently be used in any of various situations as a pry to raise rubber gaskets on glass jars, remove crown caps from bottles, etc; this feature, however, having no necessary co-operative relation to a can opener.

The outer rim-gripping wheel 13 is not indispensable in the described tool, and may be omitted; but .it is preferably employed as 'an abutment wheelco-operating with the feed-wheel 16, in order to secure a sufficiently powerful grip on the rim and to insure the proper functioning of the cutter.

It will be observed that the tool described requires only a single handle, entirely doing away with the double handles and pivoting means commonly employed in tools of this character. The structural parts are very few, and easy and cheap to manufacture, it being practical to stamp the bar 10 in the form shown out in a punch press.

I have herein illustrated and described one practical and eflicient physical embodiconvex inner edge of ment of the operative principle of the tool,

but it is manifest that changes in the details of structure and arrangement may be resorted to without departing from the principle and character of the invention or sacrificin any of the advantages thereof. Hence, reserve all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and purview of the appended claims.

I claim- ,1. In a can opener of the type described, the combination of a handle bar formed with a transverse slot in one end portion thereof, a fixed cutter disc rotatably mounted on said bar laterally opposite one end of said slot, a feed wheel underlying said slot, an operating shaft connected to said feed w eel through said slot, and means whereby, upon rotation of said shaft, said feed wheel and shaft are caused to travel lengthwise of said slot.

2. In a can opener of the type described, the combination of a handle bar formed with a transverse slot-in one end portion thereof the metal on one side of said slot being thicker than the metal on the opposite side thereof, a fixed cutter disc rotatably In a can opener of the type described, the combination of a handle bar formed with a transverse slot in one end portion thereof, the metal on one side of said slot being thicker than the nietal on the opposite side thereof, a fixed cutter disc rotatably mounted on said bar laterally opposite one.

end of said slot, a feed wheel underlying said slot, an operating shaft connected to said feed wheel through said slot and formed with an annular shoulder overlying and spanning said slot, and a friction washer encircling sald shaft between said shoulder and the top surface of said bar.

4:. In a can opener of the type described, the combinatin of a handle bar formed with a flat end portion and a transverse slot opening through one longitudinal edge of said end portion, a fixed cutter disc rotatably mounted on said end portion on one side of said slot, a feed wheel rotatably mounted on said end portion on the other 7 side of said slot and bodily shiftable toward and from said cutter disc, and manually operable means for shiftingand rotatirug said feed wheel.

5. In a can opener of the type described, the combination of a handle bar having a flat end portion formed with outer and in ner transverse slots, said inner slot opening through one longitudinal edge of said end portion, a fixed cutter disc rotatably mounted on said bar laterally opposite the open end of said inner slot, a feed wheel underlying said outer slot, an operating shaft connected to said feed wheel through said outer slot, and means whereby, upon rotation of said shaft, said feed wheel and shaft are caused to travel lengthwise of said slot toward and from said cutter disc.

WILLIAM H. NORDHAUS. 

